NBA TV Previews 2011-12 Season

Anthony on this year’s
potential contenders and surprises: “First of all, I am excited to be a part
of the NBA TV family and even more so excited to have the NBA back. I still
think Boston is
a team that could really benefit from having a short season because of the
veteran status of their roster. The Lamar Odom trade is a bit perplexing
to me and a few other people. The Lakers are not necessarily the same
team that had the chance to win it last year without a player like Odom. Dallas has a great chance
of repeating because they are a team that has enough to get over the
hump.”

Webber on this year’s potential
contenders and surprises: “While it’s too early to tell who has the clear
advantage, I will say that being a big fan of Dallas, I think they let the goods get
away. I think that Tyson Chandler is a game-changer and he’s the
only reason they won the championship last year.”

Anthony on who might have an
advantage this season - older teams vs. younger teams: “The big advantage Boston is going to have is
their core group of guys have gone through a lockout before. And I think
Doc Rivers can do a really good job of resting his guys over the course of the
regular season to prepare for the postseason.”

Webber on who has the advantage this
season - older teams vs. younger teams – and whether or not injuries will
be an issue: “I
don’t think injuries are going to be an issue. You really
can’t predict who is going to get hurt. The biggest difference on who
will have the advantage is how well the teams know each other.”

Webber on playing for Rick Adelman
and his thoughts as a coach and what to expect from the Timberwolves with him
in charge:
“He is going to empower players to be as good as you want or give you
enough rope to hang yourself. He knows Minnesota isn’t going to win a
championship anytime soon, so he is really going to build his team.
He’s prepared for success and I think he is going to do great
there.”

Webber on Adelman working with Ricky
Rubio who is being compared to Jason Williams: “Rick is patient. He earned his patience
degree working with Jason. Rubio hasn’t played in the League yet so
he doesn’t need to think about being Jason Williams, he needs to think
about getting through a game and defensively checking some people. I hope
he doesn’t get caught up in being flashy.”

Webber on why players aren’t
looking to come to Atlanta: “To be very honest, Atlanta doesn’t sell
out games. You have to have die-hard fans, and Atlanta needs to ask itself ‘Does it
have die-hard fans?’ That might answer the question as to why
players don’t want to come here.”

Smith on why players aren’t
looking to come to Atlanta: “When you look at the top
free agents, there has been an uncertainty of ownership and management in Atlanta and if you are a
franchise star player like Chris Paul and Dwight Howard, you want to know who
your ownership is. It’s been in-flux for several years.”

Anthony on the reaction from fans to
LeBron James this year: “In these economic times, fans aren’t going to be as
forgiving. But, your superstars of today are far more marketable and
likeable and if they play at a high level, ultimately the fans will come
back. But there will be a feeling out period.”

Webber on the reaction from fans to
LeBron James this year: “I think LeBron is going to get booed more than ever
before. He doesn’t have to accept the villain role, but
that’s who he is. Hopefully, he knows it’s not personal,
it’s basketball. I think fans will come back to supporting their
teams and hopefully, it will take off with the momentum of last
year.”

Smith on the acquisition of Chauncey
Billups by the L.A.
Clippers:
“I said it last night on NBA TV, it’s just unfair for him as an
individual. One thing you have to love about Chauncey Billups; he’s
been professional even through these circumstances.”

Webber on the Nuggets hope for
success this year:
“If we have learned anything about George Karl it’s that he
is a fighter and a survivor. Who knows; they might make it to the
playoffs even though there is no way they should after losing the players that
they had.”

Anthony on whether the lack of a
pre-season will affect the quality of play during the regular season: “The product will still be
high quality. Before our generation, you came to camp to get in
shape. Today, you have to come to camp in shape in order to have a chance
to play. The issue from a coaching standpoint will be when to push and
when to pull back to make sure you don’t run your guys into the ground
and create a situation that will hurt you in the long run.”

Smith on
the Golden State Warriors offseason and the
selection of Kwame Brown: “When you talk about the Warriors, there was an unbelievable
hire in Mark Jackson. The Warriors have done a great job. The focus is on
defense and to win championships that is what you have to do. He (Jackson) is
bringing an element that has not been there in the past. When you start
talking about winning in the playoffs - and winning a championship - you have
to play a little defense. Maybe Kwame Brown is not Tyson Chandler but that is a
good start for the Warriors to begin thinking with that (defensive)
mindset.”

Webber: “Their best off-season
acquisition is their coach – Mark Jackson. When you look at the Warriors
over time, they have had great players, great fans and maybe it just has been a
lack of identity for the team. I think Mark Jackson will establish that
(identity). There will be more of a defensive presence.”

Anthony
on what Kwame Brown will bring to the Warriors: “If you looked at Kwame Brown like Chris
Webber as a No. 1 overall pick, then you don’t think of him as a solid
basketball player. But if you look at Kwame Brown for what he is able and
capable of doing, he’s a nice acquisition because he can defend the rim.
He’s one of the best post-defenders in our league. That’s the
biggest weakness that Golden
State has. His game is
not about statistics, it is about impact.”

Webber
on the Minnesota
Timberwolves coaching staff: “I trust Rick Adelmanand his assessment of talent. I like the
fact that they have a guy in Kevin Love that can do everything. He works hard,
he can score. He’s going to get the best out of players. He finds players
best for his system.”

Anthony
on Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman’s coaching style: “There are two
coaches in the NBA that are Hall of Fame great coaches when you get beyond the
Pat Rileys and Phil Jacksons, it would be: Rick Adelman and George
Karl. Adelman is one of the best offensive basketball minds in the
game. If you look at all the teams he’s ever coached, he always
gets more offensively out of those teams. He is a genius in that
respect.”

Smith on
how valuable Lamar Odom was for the Lakers: “If you start talking about the Lamar
situation - he sacrificed for this team. He plugged in whatever holes he
needed. When (Andrew) Bynum went down, he played power forward. He had a great
year winning Sixth Man of the Year. He sacrificed so much.”

Webber
on the void Lamar Odom will leave the Lakers: “Last season, he was filling in for the
guys that couldn’t do it. That’s going to be missed in the
(Lakers) locker room. That was a situation that he didn’t see coming and
we didn’t see either.”

Webber
on playing games on Christmas Day: “I love playing on Christmas day, it is
an honor. As a player - for me personally - there was nothing like playing
against the Lakers on Christmas Day. As a fan, I’m looking forward to
watching every single game that day.”

Smith on
the teams that play on Christmas Day: “You want to be playing on Christmas Day,
because if you are playing on Christmas Day, your team is pretty good. If you
are watching as an NBA player, your team is not good.”

Anthony
on Christmas Day being the tip-off to the regular season: “It was a great honor if
you got to play on Christmas Day, especially playing for the (New York) Knicks. A lot of casual fans
are tuning-in on Christmas day too. In a lot of ways, it is a tip-off to
the season. It’s going to be a little bit different this year in terms of
it being the start of the season but it is still going to be an honor to play
on that day. A vast majority of the guys in the League would love to play
on Christmas Day.”

Webber
on the Washington
Wizardsimproving this season: I’m
interested in seeing the development of the rookie point guard. It all
starts with (John) Wall and how he goes. I just want to see where he has
improved. Has he improved on his jump shot or his court vision?”